ECHOES OF COURAGE

A sailor was stranded on an island. Where he was the only survivor of a shipwreck! He made a hut for his shelter. Day and night, he was praying and waiting for someone to rescue him but nobody came. He stored food in the hut for his survival. One day, the hut got burnt to ashes and nothing was left of it. He was so angry! He said, "Allah, why have you done this to me?" The following morning rescuers came. He asked, "how did you know that I was here?" They replied, "we saw a smoke signal." Lesson: E ven in our darkest moments, when it seems like everything is lost, Allah’s wisdom operate in ways we cannot imagine. What we perceive as a misfortune can be a hidden blessing, guiding us to something greater than what we can envision. Qur'an Reference: “...But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:216)

I almost sold Islam for twenty Pence... Several years ago an Imam moved to London, United kingdom . He often took the bus from his home to the downtown area. Some weeks after he arrived, he had occasion to ride the same bus. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him an extra twenty pence (which is like 20 cents), too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, you better give the twenty pence back. It would be wrong to keep it. Then he thought, "oh, forget it, its only tuppence. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway the bus company already gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a gift from Allah and keep quite." When his stop came, the Imam paused momentarily at the door, he said he didn't know what got into him. Then he handed the twenty pence back to the driver and said, "Here, you gave me too much change." The driver with a smile, replied, "Aren't you the new Imam in...

Have you heard the story of the skeptical barber and the insightful customer?   There was a barber who didn't believe that God exist. One day a man came to him as his customer for a hair cut. They started a conversation until they reached on the topic of God. The man asked the barber 'why doesn't he believe in God.' The barber replied that if God existed there wouldn't be any sick or orphan children in the world , and the world would be free from all kinds of pain and suffering. Everyone would be happy. The man didn't want to start an argument so he dropped the topic but when he came out of the shop, he noticed a person with long dirty hair and untidy beard. The man went into the shop and exclaimed that barbers did not exist. The barber argued back saying he himself is a barber. The man said that it can't be possible as many men are there in this world who have long and untidy hair. He pointed towards the man passing outside of the door. The barber explaine...

Sitting on her living room sofa, Leah was engrossed in watching television. Having recently turned 17, she was known for her curiosity and interest in both local and global politics. Unlike many of her peers, Leah always made sure to confirm and verify any information she received before forming her own opinions. She was a thoughtful and sensitive young woman, hailing from a Jewish family. Leah's ancestors had immigrated to the US following the end of the second World War. Her mother, Elijah, was a dedicated social worker with a strong passion for religious matters. Elijah firmly believed in the imminent arrival of the Messiah, who would grant the Jewish people their own homeland, and they would subsequently govern the world under his leadership.  Leah's father, Viktor, had been serving in the Israeli Defense Forces for the past five years. As Elijah busied herself with daily chores in her open-concept kitchen and lounge, she heard Leah's cries of alarm. "Mom, mom, lo...

There was this beautiful woman, who wanted to get married, but she wanted a very pious husband, so she said that she'll marry the man who recites the whole Quran every single day, fasts for the whole year and stays awake and worships Allah all throughout the night. She was a very beautiful woman, and a lot of suitors wanted to marry her, but they knew they couldn't fulfills the conditions she set. Until this one man stepped forward and said he could fulfills them. So the Imam got both of them married. After the first night of the marriage, the wife sees that the husband doesn't recite the whole of the Quran, nor does he fast, nor does he stay awake in the worship of Allah , she decided to let it roll on for a few weeks to see if there were any changes, there weren't, so she filed a complaint and asked for a divorce. They are both taken in front of the judge, and the judge asked, 'What were the conditions of the marriage?' the man replied 'They were for me to...

He remembered his grandmother's warning about praying on time: "My son, you shouldn't leave prayer to this late time." His grandmother's age was 70 but whenever she heard the Adhan, she got up like an arrow and performed Salah/Namaz/prayer. He, however could never win over his ego to get up and pray. Whatever he did, his Salah was always the last to be offered and he prayed it quickly to get it in on time. Thinking of this, he got up and realized that there were only 15 minutes left before Salat-ul Isha.  He quickly made Wudhu and performed Salat-ul Maghrib. While making Tasbih, he again remembered his grandmother and was embarrassed by how he had prayed. His grandmother prayed with such tranquility and peace . He began making Dua and went down to make Sajdah and stayed like that for a while. He had been at school all day and was tired, so tired. He awoke abruptly to the sound of noise and shouting. He was sweating profusely. He looked around. It was very crowde...

Once a young man lost his ring. He went to search for it under the bright street light. Others who saw him desperately searching for a missing ring, came to help him. When no one was successful in finding the ring, people asked him if he was sure that he dropped the ring in this place. He said, "No, I lost it there," and pointed to his house. Furious, the people asked: "Then why are you looking for it here?" The young man, trying to look clever said, "Because it is dark where I lost it, and this place is bright with light!" Everyone thought he was a fool and told him to go and search for the ring where he actually lost it. What we can learn from this story is that while our success lies in preparing for the hereafter, we are too busy looking for it in this world. If we spend all our lives only looking for success in this world, we will soon leave empty handed and take nothing with us.

During a Jumah Khutbah in a small town, an Imam talked about the significance of saying "Insha Allah" (which means if Allah wills) when planning to do something in the future. After a few days, a man who had also attended the Khutbah was going to buy a cow from the market.  On the way, he met a friend who asked him where he was going. He told him about buying the cow but did not say Insha Allah in the end. His friend reminded him about the Khutbah and told him to say Insha Allah. However, this individual said that he had the money he needs and the energy to go to the market, thus, there is no point of saying Insha Allah as he will certainly buy the cow. He thought that saying Insha Allah will not make any difference. When he reached the market, he found a cow that met his expectations. He burgained with the seller and came to a reasonable price. Finally, he decided to pay for the cow but was dumbfounded when he discovered that his money was missing. A thief had stolen the mon...

If  we do good, we stand to gain a good reward. If we do bad, we should expect a bad outcome ultimately. “What you sow, so you reap” is a popular saying. The Holy Qur'an has also guided us on this subject. It says: If you do good, you do good to yourselves. If you do evil, you do evil to yourselves. (Qur'an: Chapter 17, Verse 7) One of the companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was very fond of this verse of the Qur'an. He used to recite it loudly and repeatedly wherever he went. A Jewish woman who had heard him once wanted to prove him wrong and thus make him unpopular among his people. She thought up a plot against him. She prepared some sweets mixed with poison and sent them to him as a present. When he received them, he went out of the city with them. On the way, he met two men who were returning home from a long journey. They appeared tired and hungry, so he thought of doing them a good turn. He offered them the sweets. Of course, he was not aware that they were...